


Meta-Pause

by janai



Series: The Meta-Crisis Victorious Saga [4]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janai/pseuds/janai
Summary: The Doctor is beginning to go through The Change.....
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor & Rose Tyler
Series: The Meta-Crisis Victorious Saga [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849006
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	Meta-Pause

**Author's Note:**

> Some fluff before the angst begins......it says Chapter 1, I don't know why since I did not mark 'multiple chapters.'

The hot flashes started for the Doctor two weeks after saving his daughter when he stopped time.

It started off with little moments of sudden warmth which lasted just a few seconds. Then the flashes grew warmer and he experienced night sweats. After awaking two nights in a row to sweat soaked sheets, he had had enough.

The next morning found the Doctor and Rose the medical room in their TARDIS. After running a battery of tests, the results were less than conclusive. His serotonin and B12 levels had dropped a bit and his testosterone was a little elevated. He dutifully gave himself a shot of B12 and checked his brain scan a second time. There, he noticed a tiny fluctuation in the near-dormant cluster of what remained of his Time Lord abilities.

"Well, that could be caused by the fact that I can sorta, a little wee bit perhaps, control Time." He noted looking at Rose.

"Wouldn't explain why I am having hot flashes, though. Hot flashes!" he sniffed audibly."You would think I was turning into a woman." Rose snorted at his comment and he realized what he had said. He quickly went into damage control mode to avoid getting a smack.

"Not that being a woman is bad...women are wonderful and delightful and so superior to men...." He was cut off as she leaned forwards to place an index finger over his lips.

"Meta-pause." Rose grinned with a smirk and giggled. "You are starting to go through Meta-pause." He could tell she was very pleased that she had a proper diagnosis and a name to describe it.

"That." he grumbled, "sounds just about right. Meta-pause. Meta-paaaaauussseeeeee. Quite right."

He looked back of his brain scan on the monitor with a thoughtful expression on his narrow face. He pressed a tab to save the results and sighed loudly. Rose moved forward to pull him into her embrace and hugged him tightly. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and breathed deeply. Her scent was reassuring and he felt himself relax in her warmth and love.

"How about a cuppa?" she murmured in his wonky shaped ear.

"Tha' mould be lufly," He mumbled, mouth pressed into her skin.

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The Doctor came awake with a moan and a start; he sat up quickly on the bed, panting. He was so hot and drenched with sweat. With another moan, he left the bed and padded quickly into their ensuite where he scurried into the shower stall. He turned the cold-water on full blast and stood under the shower head with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, heaven, heaven," he moaned as the frigid water sluiced down his heat flushed body. He never thought below freezing water would feel so good! The Doctor stayed in the shower until he turned beet red and felt numb; the relief was incredible.

"I never truly understood why human women were so miserable during menopause before," he mumbled. He knew one day his Rose would go through 'The Change' and he knew he would stand by her side no matter how evil or distressed she might get.

The Change, a prelude to a new phase of life; the Doctors frozen brain matter thawed enough for him to grasp the significance of those two words. He was going through a change and perhaps the hot flashes were part of it. A thrill of excitement and fear raced through his body at this 'ah-ha' moment. What Time Lord abilities might he regain and what new things could try to change him into the angry, vengeful God-like being that he had become in The Dream? He did not want to be that person, nor did he want to become a full Time Lord again.

Finally nice and chilled, he left the shower and dried his body; he pulled on a soft t-shirt that had been hanging on a hook by his robe. The Doctor looked into the mirror as he ran the towel over his wet hair to dry and considered his rosy pink skin. A shadow appeared in his eyes as he considered the significance of what was happening to him. He was changing, he knew that, and he had no idea of what the near future would bring.

A chilled and sober Doctor went back to his bed, glad that he had not awakened Rose; she was sound asleep and almost obscured by the fluffy duvet. When he touched his pillow, it was wet as was the sheet on his side of the bed. He wanted to crawl back into the bed and snuggle close to her comforting presence. The thought of laying down on cloying, sweat soaked bedding was abhorrent.

With a sigh, he went to Bonnie Mae's crib. Leaning over, he gently kissed her crown of soft hair. Warmth flooded his soul from her mere presence and he pulled away to settle into the soft recliner next to her bed. He made himself comfortable as he opened his mind fully to draw in the sleeping contentment of his little family.

Within minutes he was lulled into a deep slumber by the two heartbeats most precious to him.


End file.
